Inverter building

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a building for accommodating waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses, in particular an inverter building, including an air inlet, an air outlet, an air supply passage downstream of the air inlet in the flow direction, and at least one ventilation device for generating an air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet. According to the invention the air supply passage extends from the inlet opening to a lower flow chamber beneath the inlet opening and the ventilation device is arranged in the lower flow chamber. The invention concerns a building for accommodating waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses, in particular an inverter building, including an air inlet, an air outlet, an air supply passage downstream of the air inlet in the flow direction, and at least one ventilation device for generating an air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet. According to the invention the air supply passage extends from the inlet opening to a lower flow chamber beneath the inlet opening and the ventilation device is arranged in the lower flow chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to German Application No. 20 2009 007 559.1, filed May 27, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a building for accommodating waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses, in particular an inverter building, including an air inlet, an air outlet, an air supply passage downstream of the air inlet in the flow direction, and at least one ventilation device for generating an air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet.

Buildings for accommodating waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses are sometimes also referred to as engineering stations and are frequently designed to be accessible to people, but they can also be in the form of smaller compact stations. The buildings can be for example in the form of concrete, brickwork or composite structures or in the form of container stations. In the operating condition the buildings can be flush with the ground or erected for example on the roof of an installation or another building.

The buildings referred to in the opening part of this specification are used in different areas of use, for example as inverter buildings for the feed for example of power produced in photovoltaic or wind power installations into the public mains network or as transformer stations.

The electrical apparatuses accommodated in a building such as for example inverters or transformers generate waste heat, for which reason the building must be adequately equipped with air intake and venting. For that purpose the building has an air inlet and an air outlet. Besides the air inlet and the air outlet the building can have other closable openings such as for example doors, windows or supply shafts.

It is necessary for the air flowing from the air inlet to the air outlet through the building for air intake and venting purposes to be as free as possible from foreign matter and/or impurities such as for example dust, pollen or other particles in order not to contaminate the electrical equipment arranged in the building and their components. Such contaminating impurities can result in premature or increased wear, damage and/or even failure of the electrical apparatuses.

Amounts of air of several 100 m3 per hour can be required for sufficient ventilation of the buildings. At the same time the air circulation is often not optimum in respect of the air flow for example because of the buildings being of the lowest possible structural height and/or because of the arrangement of the apparatuses in the building. In addition both components arranged in the building such as filters, cooling fins or baffle plates and also external factors such as weather influences, in particular a changing wind pressure, can detrimentally influence the volume flow of the air in the building.

Admittedly the electrical apparatuses disposed in the buildings often have incorporated fans but they are generally not sufficient to ensure an adequate air flow in the building. Buildings of the kind referred to in the opening part of this specification therefore have at least one separate ventilation device, that is to say a ventilation device which is associated with the building and not with an apparatus, for example a fan or a blower, for producing an air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet to achieve an adequate volume flow for dissipation of the waste heat of the electrical apparatuses.

Existing buildings of the kind referred to in the opening part of this specification however have disadvantages in various respects. The levels of sound emission caused in particular by the ventilation device cause environmental pollution around the building. In addition in the case of existing buildings, there are frequently still contaminating impurities in the air and that therefore leads to premature or increased wear, damage or failure of the electrical apparatuses. That leads on the one hand to high maintenance and repair costs for the apparatuses and also failure costs if the apparatuses are not operable.

A further disadvantage of existing buildings is that maintenance or a change in the filter device is frequently only possible if the ventilation device and/or the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses are taken out of operation. Particularly if it is not possible to exclude contact with the ventilation device and/or the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses when working on the filter device, operations on the filter can also be effected only by expert electrical engineering personnel or suitably trained people.

Therefore the problem of the present invention is to provide a building for accommodating waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses, in particular an inverter building, which eliminates or reduces one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages.

That problem is solved by a building of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification which is characterised in that the air supply passage extends from the inlet opening to a lower flow chamber beneath the inlet opening and the ventilation device is arranged in the lower flow chamber.

The ventilation device is disposed in the building according to the invention at a spacing from the inlet opening in a lower flow chamber of the air supply passage. The air supply passage preferably extends from the inlet opening to the lower flow chamber which is beneath the inlet opening and to the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses. An air exhaust passage preferably extends between the air outlet and the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses.

The at least one ventilation device arranged in the lower flow chamber produces an air flow which preferably passes into the building through the air inlet, flows through the air supply passage, flows through and/or around the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses, flows through the air exhaust passage and leaves the building again through the air outlet.

The building according to the invention may have one, two or more ventilation devices. The number and type of the ventilation devices are preferably determined in dependence on the size, construction, nature and/or number of the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses as well as the geometry involved in the air circulation. The features, configurations and advantages of a ventilation device, which have been described hereinbefore and are described hereinafter, also apply correspondingly to two or more ventilation devices of a building according to the invention.

The arrangement according to the invention of the ventilation device in the lower flow chamber has a number of advantages. On the one hand the invention is based on the realisation that the high levels of sound emission which frequently occur in the existing buildings in the state of the art are generally due to the fact that the ventilation devices are arranged near the air inlet or air outlet and the sound produced by the ventilation device can escape outwardly through those openings undamped to a greater or lesser degree. Admittedly that facilitates maintenance of the ventilation device, but complicated and expensive acoustic damping is required to avoid high levels of sound emission. That in turn increases the flow resistance and therefore requires more input of energy. In particular if the ventilation device is arranged in the air exhaust passage between the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses and the air outlet the sound is discharged outwardly through the air outlet with the exhaust air, undamped to a greater or lesser degree. Arranging the ventilation device according to the invention in a lower flow chamber makes it possible to increase the spacing of the ventilation device from the air inlet and outlet and thus makes it possible to markedly reduce the sound emission.

The spacing according to the invention of the ventilation device from the air inlet and outlet and/or a filter device further has the advantage that the ventilation device is not in direct communication with the environment and/or a filter device and in that way the power of the ventilation device is less heavily dependent on weather influences, in particular wind pressure, or the degree of contamination of a filter device.

A further advantage of the positioning according to the invention of the ventilation device in the lower flow chamber is that in that way the ventilation device is not arranged directly behind or at the air inlet, but at a spacing from the air inlet. The spacing according to the invention of the ventilation device from the air inlet means that it is possible for example for filter devices arranged at the air inlet to be checked, maintained and/or replaced without having to switch off and/or dismantle the ventilation device.

A further advantage lies in better protection from contaminating impurities for the electrical apparatuses. In the case of buildings in the state of the art which have filter devices contaminating impurities can also nonetheless pass into the air flow. The cause of those contaminating impurities can be for example incorrectly fitted, damaged and/or excessively heavily contaminated filter devices, or such contaminating impurities may occur for example when replacing the filter devices if working materials, waste matter and/or other parts pass into the interior of the building, in particular into the air supply passage. An advantage of the invention is afforded inter alia by virtue of the fact that the flow chamber with the ventilation device is arranged beneath the inlet opening. In that way dirt or dust particles which have entered through the air inlet and/or contaminating matter of another kind can firstly pass downwardly under the force of gravity into the flow chamber and can collect there at least in part outside the air flow. In contrast to the ventilation devices which in the state of the art are generally arranged directly downstream of the air intake and which further convey any contaminating impurities which enter directly in the air flow, the arrangement according to the invention of the ventilation device in the lower flow chamber means that it is at least partially possible to prevent contaminating impurities being transported directly to the electrical apparatuses. In that way contamination of the electrical apparatuses can be advantageously reduced.

A development of the invention can provide that the building has an apparatus portion and a bottom portion arranged beneath the apparatus portion, wherein the lower flow chamber is arranged in the bottom portion of the building.

Preferably the waste heat-generating apparatuses are arranged in the apparatus portion of the building according to the invention. The bottom portion disposed therebeneath has the lower flow chamber. For example cable shafts, other conduit arrangements and/or further (supply) components can also be arranged in the bottom portion of a building according to the invention. The configuration involving an apparatus portion and a bottom portion has the advantage that those portions can for example be made from materials which are entirely or in part different. It is preferable in that respect for the bottom portion to be made for example from a material having enhanced sound damping properties in order further to reduce the sound emission caused by the ventilation device. Particularly preferably for example the bottom portion is made from normal concrete and the apparatus portion is made from lightweight concrete, brickwork or in the form of a composite structure.

A development of the invention can provide that the bottom portion is separated at least portion-wise from the apparatus portion by a substantially horizontal support surface for installation of the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses. The separation of the bottom portion and the apparatus portion by a support surface on which the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses are set up or arranged directly or on structures provided for that purpose, also serves inter alia to reduce transmission of the sound generated by the ventilation device. In addition this development according to the invention has the advantage that the components arranged in the bottom portion are covered over by the support surface and as a result on the one hand are protected while on the other hand are not in the way when the building is accessed by people.

A development of the invention can provide that in the operating condition of the building the bottom portion of the building is arranged entirely or partially beneath the surface of the ground. Particularly in the case of buildings according to the invention which in the operating condition are arranged flush with the ground, it is preferable for the bottom portion of the building to be entirely or partially in the form of a cellar portion arranged beneath the surface of the ground. Besides advantages in terms of stability of the building in that way the sound given off into the environment by the ventilation device can be further markedly reduced.

A development of the invention can provide that the air inlet and/or the air outlet is or are arranged in the apparatus portion of the building, preferably in the upper half of the apparatus portion. Arranging the air inlet and/or air outlet in the apparatus portion on the one hand and the ventilation device in the bottom portion on the other hand provides that a spacing which is as large as possible between the air inlet and air outlet and the ventilation device is advantageously achieved. In that way it is possible to further reduce the escape of the sound generated by the ventilation device, through the air inlet and/or the air outlet. It is particularly preferred for the air inlet and/or air outlet to be arranged in the upper half of the apparatus portion, preferably in the roof of the building, and/or for the air inlet or the air outlet to be so arranged that the air flow path between the air inlet or air outlet and the ventilation device is as long as possible.

Furthermore in that way it is possible to reduce the influence on the ventilation device due to wind pressure and/or the degree of contamination of a filter device arranged at the air inlet.

A preferable development of the invention is afforded by a filter device preferably arranged at the air inlet. A further development of the invention can provide that the filter device is so arranged that it is replaceable from outside the building.

A filter device is arranged in the building according to the invention to prevent the ingress of contaminating impurities into the building, in particular into the air supply passage, preferably at the air inlet. That can advantageously provide on the one hand that contaminating impurities cannot pass at all into the interior of the building but are caught directly at the air inlet. In addition that arrangement of the filter device gives the advantage that there is no need for a person to access the building for checking, maintenance or replacement, but the filter device is accessible from the exterior for that purpose. If there is no need to gain access to the interior of the building, the electrical apparatuses in the building also do not have to be switched off for works on the filter, so that the shut-down times can be reduced.

The arrangement according to the invention of the filter device at the air inlet on the one hand and the ventilation device in the lower flow chamber on the other hand further has the advantage that people who are not trained in dealing with electrical apparatuses can perform work on the filter as, by virtue of that arrangement, when working on the filter or when changing a filter, no contact with the ventilation device is possible or is required and there is also no need for a person to have access to the building. There is also no need to switch off and/or dismantle the ventilation device. That facilitates and reduces the length of the operations for checking, maintaining or changing the filter on the one hand while on the other hand it also increases the availability of the electrical apparatuses arranged in the building.

A development of the invention can provide a foreign matter catch device arranged in the air supply passage. A foreign matter catch device arranged in the air supply passage according to the invention has the advantage that contaminating impurities which have passed into the air supply passage through the air inlet—for example due to missing, incorrectly fitted, defective or excessively contaminated filter devices—can be caught before they are transported with the air flow to the electrical apparatuses and contaminate the apparatuses and can thus possibly damage them.

The foreign matter catch device can be for example a grill or metal plate structure which is suitable for entirely or partially removing contaminating impurities from the air flow. Preferably the foreign matter catch device can be replaced and/or cleaned.

A development of the invention can provide that the foreign matter catch device is arranged at least portion-wise in the lower flow chamber. That arrangement is particularly preferred as in that way foreign matter can pass from the air inlet under the force of gravity into the lower flow chamber disposed beneath the inlet opening and can there be caught by the foreign matter catch device.

A development of the invention can provide that the foreign matter catch device is arranged in the air supply passage between the ventilation device and the air inlet. Preferably the foreign matter catch device is arranged between the air inlet and the ventilation device. In that way contamination of the ventilation device can be reduced or avoided as foreign matter or contaminating impurities which have entered through the air inlet can be caught by the foreign matter catch device before they reach the ventilation device.

A development of the invention can provide that the foreign matter catch device has a substantially horizontally arranged grill. Such a grill is particularly advantageous for catching for example larger items of foreign matter which for example could damage the ventilation device and/or the electrical apparatuses. Such larger items of foreign matter can be for example stones or filter parts which upon a change in the filter have passed by mistake into the air supply passage.

A development of the invention can provide that the foreign matter catch device has a collecting device adapted to retain foreign matter which has entered, and is preferably arranged beneath the grill. A collecting device advantageously provides that the contaminating impurities or foreign matter caught in the foreign matter catch device do not at least in part pass into the air flow again, but at least for the major part remain in the collecting device until the foreign matter catch device as a whole or only the collecting device is replaced or cleaned and the contaminating matter or the foreign matter are removed from the building in that way. Preferably the collecting device is arranged beneath the grill as in that way only the smaller contaminating impurities or foreign matter which pass the grill can pass into the collecting device. It is possible in that way to prevent the collecting device becoming blocked or possibly even damaged by particularly large pieces of foreign matter.

A development of the invention can provide that the collecting device is arranged entirely or portion-wise beneath the ventilation device. This arrangement according to the invention advantageously utilises the action of the force of gravity so that the foreign substances in the collecting device are arranged beneath the ventilation device and would firstly have to be lifted up again by the air flow generated by the ventilation device in order to be entrained by the air flow. Arranging the collecting device beneath the ventilation device increases the difficulty in the contaminating impurities being picked up into the air flow, and that therefore improves the retention function of the collecting device.

A further development of the invention can provide at least one air guide plate so arranged that it supports the air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet. Buildings according to the invention are mostly of a compact space-saving construction so that the placement of the passages for air intake and air venting frequently cannot be optimised in respect of the flow properties. It is therefore advantageous to improve the flow by air guide plates. At the same time or alternatively it is preferable for the air guide plates to be so arranged that the levels of sound emission are reduced.

A further development of the invention can provide at least one baffle plate so arranged that it supports guidance of foreign matter in the direction of the foreign matter catch device. In the building according to the invention foreign substances or contaminating impurities are preferably transported substantially by the force of gravity from the air inlet to the foreign matter catch device. It is however preferred for such transport to be assisted by baffle plates or similar devices.

A preferred embodiment is described by way of example with reference to the accompanying FIGURE in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section through a diagrammatic view of a building according to the invention for accommodating waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 of the building according to the invention is an inverter building in which one or more inverters 110 is or are arranged.

The inverter building 100 according to the invention has an air inlet 120 and an air outlet 130. A filter device 160 comprising filter mats is arranged at the air inlet 120. An air supply passage 140 is arranged in adjoining relationship downstream of the air inlet 120 with the filter device 160, the air supply passage 140 having a region 141 directly downstream of the air inlet 130 and extending to a lower flow chamber 142 disposed beneath the inlet opening 120.

The air outlet 130 is protected by an exhaust air cowl 131 from the ingress of contaminating impurities and/or water. An exhaust air passage 180 adjoins the air outlet.

The inverters 110 are arranged on a support surface 103. The support surface 103 separates a bottom portion 102 from an apparatus portion 101 of the inverter building 100. The bottom portion 102 is preferably made from normal concrete and the apparatus portion 101 from lightweight concrete, brickwork or in the form of a composite structure. The apparatus portion 101 serves to accommodate the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses, here the inverters 110. Arranged in the bottom portion 102 in the FIG. 1 embodiment are a lower flow chamber 142, at least one ventilation device 150 as well as a foreign matter catch device comprising a protective grill 171 and a collecting device 172 in the form of a dirt trap.

The inverters 110 can have integrated fans (not shown). Generally however they are not sufficient to produce the required air flow from the air inlet 120 to the air outlet 130. The required air flow from the air inlet 120 to the air outlet 130 is produced by the at least one ventilation device 150 arranged in the lower flow chamber 142.

A foreign matter catch device having a protective grill 171 and a collecting device in the form of a dirt trap 172 is arranged between the air inlet 120 with the filter device 160 and the ventilation device 150. If foreign matter or contaminating impurities should pass into the air supply passage 140, 141 through the air inlet 120—which can be the case for example in the event of a missing, defective, incorrectly installed or severely contaminated filter device 160 or when changing the filter—then those contaminating impurities or items of foreign matter pass to the foreign matter catch device due to the action of the force of gravity. In the catch device coarse items of foreign matter are firstly caught by the protective grill 171. Particles passing further downwardly into the flow chamber 142 through the protective grill 171 are received and retained by the collecting device 172. The ventilation device 150 is arranged above the collecting device 172 so that the air flow produced by the ventilation device 150 does not whirl up again the particles in the collecting device 172 and thus does not pick them up and pass them into the air flow leading to the inverters 110. That prevents or reduces contamination of the inverters 110 and their components. That means that the corresponding disadvantages such as for example a higher degree of wear, damage or failure of the inverters can also be reduced.

The air flow generated by the ventilation device 150 flows through or around the inverters 110 and then flows out of the inverter building 100 through the exhaust air passage 180 and the air outlet 130. As the ventilation device 150 is disposed in the bottom portion 102 and not in the apparatus portion 101 in the inverter building 100 according to the invention, and in particular is not arranged in the proximity of the air inlet 120 or the air outlet 130, the sound emission can be considerably reduced in comparison with buildings known in the state of the art.

In addition the arrangement according to the invention of the ventilation device 150 reduces the dependency of the air flow on the degree of contamination of the filter device 160 and on weather influences, in particular wind pressure, as the ventilation device 150 is markedly spaced both from the air inlet 120 with the filter device 160 and also from the air outlet 130.

Furthermore the arrangement according to the invention of the components of the inverter building 100 has the advantage that the filter device 160 can be checked, maintained and if necessary replaced, from outside the inverter building 100. For that purpose, there is no need either for a person to have access to the inverter station 100, nor is there any need for the ventilation device 150 and/or the inverters 110 to be switched off. The spacing of the ventilation device 150 and the inverters 110 from the air inlet 120 and the filter device 160 arranged therein means that contact with the inverters 110 and/or the ventilation device 150 from the outside is neither required nor possible so that operations on the filter 160 can also be implemented by people without special knowledge in relation to electrical apparatuses. The fact that neither the electrical apparatuses 110 nor the ventilation device 150 have to be switched off while working at the filter device 160 means that the shut-down times of the electrical apparatuses 110 can be further reduced. 

1. A building (100) for accommodating waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses (110), in particular an inverter building, including—an air inlet (120), an air outlet (130), an air supply passage (140) downstream of the air inlet in the flow direction, and at least one ventilation device (150) for generating an air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet, characterised in that the air supply passage extends from the inlet opening to a lower flow chamber (142) beneath the inlet opening and the ventilation device is arranged in the lower flow chamber.
 2. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised in that the building has an apparatus portion (101) and a bottom portion (102) arranged beneath the apparatus portion, wherein the lower flow chamber (42) is arranged in the bottom portion of the building.
 3. A building (100) according to claim 2 characterised in that the bottom portion (102) is separated at least portion-wise from the apparatus portion (101) by a substantially horizontal support surface (103) for installation of the waste heat-generating electrical apparatuses (110).
 4. A building (100) according to claim 3 characterised in that in the operating condition of the building the bottom portion (102) of the building is arranged entirely or partially beneath the surface of the ground.
 5. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised in that the air inlet (120) and/or the air outlet (130) is or are arranged in the apparatus portion (101) of the building, preferably in the upper half of the apparatus portion.
 6. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised by a filter device (160) preferably arranged at the air inlet (120).
 7. A building (100) according to claim 6 characterised in that the filter device (160) is so arranged that it is replaceable from outside the building.
 8. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised by a foreign matter catch device (171, 172) arranged in the air supply passage (140).
 9. A building (100) according to claim 8 characterised in that the foreign matter catch device (171, 172) is arranged at least portion-wise in the lower flow chamber (142).
 10. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised in that the foreign matter catch device (171, 172) is arranged in the air supply passage (140) between the ventilation device (150) and the air inlet (120).
 11. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised in that the foreign matter catch device (171, 172) has a substantially horizontally arranged grill (171).
 12. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised in that the foreign matter catch device (171, 172) has a collecting device (172) adapted to retain foreign matter which has entered, and is preferably arranged beneath the grill (171).
 13. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised in that the collecting device (172) is arranged entirely or portion-wise beneath the ventilation device (150).
 14. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised by at least one air guide plate so arranged that it supports the air flow from the air inlet (120) to the air outlet (130).
 15. A building (100) according to claim 1 characterised by at least one baffle plate so arranged that it supports guidance of foreign matter in the direction of the foreign matter catch device (171, 172). 